Chapter 41
Dylon
“ W hat a difference a year makes,” I say to Lars, leaning against the elevator rail.
“Yeah, now I’m going to have to dodge my teammates playing kissy face,” Caleb quips.
“Don’t hate on the lovebirds.” Mason punches him. “He’s just jealous,” he stage-whispers.
“I’m not jealous,” Caleb protests as Lars pulls me by the belt loops toward him.
“What did you guys bring this year?” Lars nods to the bag in Caleb’s hand.
“Not flowers. I thought Patrik was gonna rip my head off last year. You guys didn’t flip out when I brought flowers.” Caleb swings the bag up by the handles and catches it in his hands.
“Patrik’s not American, and you brought his boyfriend flowers,” Lars says matter-of-factly.
Caleb throws an arm up. “He didn’t tell us that until months later.”
“Yeah, but you suspected and tried to stir up trouble,” Mason teases him.
He turns red and mumbles, “Did not.”
“Is it a secret? Are you trying to make trouble? Cuz you know Trevor will not tolerate it.” I try to grab the bag.
“Trevy loves me. And just for that, I’m not telling you what’s in here.” Caleb holds it close to his chest .
“It’s Trevor’s favorite chocolates.” Mason snickers.
“What did you bring for Patrik?” Lars asks.
“Happy husband, happy life.” Caleb steps out of the elevator.
Lars buries his face in my hair and mutters, “Liska will not be happy Baby Benz is feeding his man.”
“Yep. Let’s go watch the show.” We enter their apartment with our appetizer like civilized people and set it on the large kitchen island before going into the living room.
“The city looks so cool from up here,” Caleb says to no one in particular.
Patrik scowls at the package of dark chocolate as if it has personally wronged him, and then that gaze lands on Caleb’s back. But sadly, no snarky comments.
Most of the team is already here, along with Trevor’s cousin Shane, his husband, Cole, and Finn.
“The twins beat us here.” I grab Lars’s hand and pull him over to Austin and Grayson, who are both wearing black pants and light-blue button-down shirts.
“Do not.” Ace holds up his hand. “The statistical probability of us wearing the same basic outfit day after day has to work in our favor at some point. It’s like there are gremlins in our closets, handing us the same clothes.”
“Now it’s gremlins, before it was ghosts. What kinda hellhole do you live in?” I bounce on my toes and don’t wait for them to answer. “We’ve already decided it’s the brain-sharing thing. There’s only so much independent thinking you can do for your jobs. The clothes are the obvious chink in your armor.” That makes Lars laugh, and Gray gives me the finger.
“Careful, k?raste , you never know what Grayson will do to get back at you.” He kisses my temple.
“Next time something hurts, I’ll send you to Ace since he’ll probably be using the brain cells.” Gray rolls his neck as if the conversation is giving him a headache.
“I never get hu—”
“Do not say that out loud and invite bad karma in. You said the same thing at the beginning of last season right before…” Lars gestures to my shoulder.
“Really? I said something like that?” I ask and he nods. “You remember? ”
“When my best friend turned love of my life says something careless, then injures himself, it sticks in my mind.” Lars’s hand lands possessively on my hip.
“Don’t make the hockey gods mad,” Caleb hollers from the sofa. “We’re holding a big drink thing over our heads this year. Aren’t we, big guy?” Caleb turns to Patrik, who holds up his drink to salute him.
“Bunch of superstitious, hysterical hockey players.” Trevor shakes his head. “Can you not even say The Stan—”
“No,” everyone shouts at him. Trevor jumps in surprise, and Finn cackles.
A timer goes off, and Trevor disappears into the kitchen, shouting over his shoulder, “Dinner in ten minutes. Who’s carving the turkey for me?”
Patrik gives the volunteers the evil eye and stalks into the kitchen.
After we’re all seated, Patrik stands at the head of the table. “You are my teammates, my friends, my family. Thank you for supporting us and accepting our relationship.” He holds out his glass, and the rest of us cheers to him.
The team asked me if I’d prefer the day to be alcohol-free, and I don’t. I want them to celebrate without worrying about me and my sobriety. I have my year chip in my pocket and am confident the worst is behind me. There’s a tiny worry about what will happen if I get injured and need to take pain meds, but this time I will have support and help.
“Any other big announcements?” Caleb waggles his eyebrows at Lars.
“What, you think he’s going to get down on one knee and propose in front of all you assholes?” I laugh, but Lars stands and bends over. I stop breathing, and in my head, I’m screaming “stop.”
But Lars looks up with a grin. “What? I am tying my shoe.”
“Goddamnit. You mother fucker.” Finn crosses his arms and huffs. “If you were my boyfriend, I’d withhold sex for a month.” When Caleb clucks his tongue, he amends, “A week at least.”
Lars slides back into his seat with a worried expression. “Did I screw up?”
“No, Sugar.” I inhale, letting it out slowly. “You almost gave me a heart attack, but no screwup. Just to be clear, if you do ever ask me to marry you, we should discuss it first and not do it in front of these idiots,” I say in a low voice.
He kisses me, and the room fades away .
“Didn’t I tell you we’d have to put up with kissy faces,” Caleb complains.
“Get yourself a girlfriend, and you won’t feel that way.” Ace points his knife at Caleb.
“Girlfriend, boyfriend, whichever.” He shrugs and then his gaze sweeps the table. “I mean, you all know I’m bisexual, right?”
There’s silence until Trevor speaks up. “Honey, you dropped hints but since no one wants to out someone else, you need to be real specific, like your last statement.”
“I’ve known since college and have been waiting for you to tell me.” Mason side-eyes him.
“It’s like these guys said. Why do I have to announce it? I figured I’d be knee-deep in pussy or dick by now, but I’m not into sex with people who only see my jersey. They gotta like the whole package.” Caleb stabs his turkey with his fork.
I make a mental note to talk to him later about being demisexual or leaning that way.
“Your person is out there, and there’s nothing wrong with waiting. I waited and look how great it turned out for me.” Trevor leans over, and Patrik pulls him into his lap.
I love how normal it is for them to show affection. They don’t hide their love. Lars and I don’t have to either.
“Finding the right person is definitely worth it.” Shane leans into Cole.
Lars takes my hand and links our fingers, and the simple gesture speeds up my heart rate. For a man who was averse to physical affection, he loves touching me.
After dinner, Caleb tries to commandeer the sound system, but we settle on one of my playlists. I selected the songs for maximum fun with some needed dance breaks.
“Snug, move the coffee table, please. These menaces are going to be trouble tonight with no game tomorrow,” Trevor says, trying to sound stern, but his grin gives him away.
“Enjoy the time off now bitches cuz we gotta play New Year’s Eve this year,” Caleb sings .
In silent agreement, Caleb and I stand back-to-back and twerk in time to the music. I’ve got my eyes on Lars, figuring out how to get him to dance with me. He’ll need to watch for a while before the music gets him moving.
Jamal’s head is bopping in time with the beat, needing an invitation I’m happy to provide. Grabbing his hand, I spin him in a pirouette between Caleb and me. He shimmies out from what was about to be full-body contact.
“I’m not your jelly.” Jamal snaps his fingers.
“Be our jelly roll.” Caleb shimmies in a circle around him.
Jamal perfectly times a body roll with the music, and I wolf-whistle and slap Caleb on the back.
“Rookie’s got moooves.” Caleb mimics his motion, and the team joins in, whistling and clapping.
“Watch it with the rookie shit, Baby Benz, or I’ll show you what rhythm actually looks like.” Jamal drags a finger from Caleb’s lips down to the middle of his chest and shoves him.
“And he’s got bite,” I say, catching Caleb when he pretends to fall from the shove.
A few guys stand in a wide semi-circle, almost ready to join in. The three of us dance for the entire song, and I’m loving Lars’s eyes on me.